Originally Posted by
ursus
I must confess that I have no idea how modern factory edges are compared to honed ones.
In principle however, I respectfully disagree - an item sold to one specific purpose should be able to do it properly, before any repairing. As an analog, When I buy a new car, it had better run or we'd be having Words. Taking it to somebody (and paying out of your own pocket) who repairs it should not be the status quo, IMO. It's a different thing however if it is sold a little cheaper (compared to "honed, shave-ready") as "not shave-ready".
We have it good in the sense that we know what is shave-ready and who can hone them, but somebody who buys from a small cutlery-vendor somewhere should get a shave-ready edge too.